Precious Things
by MsZoid
Summary: Sequel to "Not Myself", Six years after his time in the ward, Craig learns more about himself and his illness thanks to an old friend.
1. Default Chapter

I don't own Degrassi. Everything that you don't recognize from Degrassi is mine.   
  
This story takes place six years after the events of "Not Myself"-Craig is 22 and so on and so forth.   
  
Precious Things  
  
Chapter One  
  
Craig Manning sighed as he looked at Troy. Troy Hall was the editor of the Canadian tabloid "Sights and Sounds," and he was also Craig's boss. He was asking Craig to leave Toronto for an assignment.  
  
"So, we need you to go to PEI and take photos of a house."  
  
"Who's house?"  
  
"We heard it belongs to AK Bannister." AK Bannister was a popular and mysterious writer. IN the last five years Bannister's books had become horribly popular, but all that was known about the author was that she was a woman.   
  
"The writer? How did you find that out?"  
  
"I can't tell you that..you've heard of her work?"  
  
"My roommate loves it." Emma did love AK Bannister, as did most young women in the country. Bannister wrote books about everything. She'd done a ghost story set at a boarding school, a comic romance set between the Canadian Prime Minster's daughter and the son of the US president, and a novel about life in a psychiatric ward that Craig refused to read, despite Emma's whining that it would do him good. No, that was a place he'd rather forget about-it had been six years after all.  
  
"I see...so, you leave in two days. We've got you a room in a hotel." Troy handed him some information. "These are flight numbers, hotel into, a map to the house...I'll be calling you every day." Craig nodded. He didn't want to do it, but it was his job and he was headed to Prince Edward Island in two days.  
  
Craig headed back to the apartment he shared with his friend Emma Nelson. Emma was sitting on the couch with her boyfriend Adam who practically lived with the two of them.   
  
"How was the trash heap?" Adam asked, referring to the tabloid news game.  
  
"I'm going to PEI in two days to take photos of a house that might belong to AK Bannister."  
  
"How'd they find out where AK lives? I mean, she's so mysterious. IF you meet her I want an autograph."  
  
Craig rolled his eyes at Emma as he read through his information. "According to my info-and you didn't hear it from me-AK's real identify is probably Melody Matthews, and Ms. Matthew's is in Europe traveling, her house is being watched by her niece, no name given." Emma and Adam both looked at Craig. "So I have to take photos of this house, while someone else is following Melody Matthews and hoping she gives away her identity. I'm getting real job, someday."  
  
"You're a great photographer, you deserve better than this Craig." Emma told him. "And don't forget your meds when you pack."  
  
"I won't forget them, Emma. I'm not stupid."  
  
The next night Craig had dinner with his Stepfather, Joey, his wife Caitlin, and the kids-Angie and year old Evan. "So, I'll call you every day or every other day, ok?"  
  
"Craig, I could get you a job at the station..."  
  
"I don't want to use your coattails, Caitlin." Craig and her had had this argument a million times before. "But..I may have to. I'm thinking about quitting after this job, I'm so sick of being at the bottom of the totem pole at the bottom of a slimy lake."   
  
"I'll miss you Craig." His sister told him, with a hug.  
  
"I'll miss you too, Ange. I won't be gone for long though."  
  
The next day Craig got on a plane and headed to PEI for his assignment. 


	2. Hello City

I still don't own Degrassi. Doesn't that suck? A lot?  
  
Chapter Two: Hello City  
  
The day before Craig was leaving for Prince Edward Island he headed into the office for a quick meeting with Troy. He was planning on asking Troy if he could take a vacation after he got the photos and just mail the photos back to Toronto. Shockingly, Troy agreed. He also had a request for Craig.  
  
"Craig, I want you to be careful. If you don't get the photos for a week, thats fine. The most important thing is to not get caught. Plus, while you are there, you can find out things about this Melody Matthews." Craig nodded, figuring he'd just lie to Troy and tell him that he couldn't find any information.   
  
"Ok, Troy. Do you have anything else I need to know?"  
  
"Nope, I trust you, Craig. You're one of the best photographers we have here." Oh, joy, Craig thought to himself. He was the best of the sleeze. He figured that some people would have been proud of the compliment, but Craig wasn't. He had to find a new job, and soon.  
  
Craig was packing that night when Emma came home. "Hey."  
  
"Hey, I have something for you." Emma handed Craig a book. It was AK Bannister's book on the psychiatric ward, "Wash Away." Craig just looked at it, then put it in his carry-on. "I figured you might want to look at it. You don't have to read it, but it might give you some idea about who AK Bannister is. It seemed more personal to me when I read it than her other material."  
  
Craig nodded. "I don't know if I can read it, Em. If its half as real as you say it is, I'm almost sure I can't. There's something about reading about it that hurts me."  
  
"You can't forget you were there, Craig."  
  
"I'm not going to forget, Emma." Craig sighed and looked at her. "I see it in my head sometimes, when I get depressed, and that scares me enough to rush me as fast as I can into Dr. Allen to talk and work on whatevers bothering me. I don't want to think about it, I don't want to picture it in my head. I want to forget it existed-but I can't."  
  
"You say that like its a bad thing."  
  
"You don't understand. I know you mean well, but you don't understand. I don't think anyone can." Craig zipped up his suitcase. "I'm ready to head off in the morning, I guess."  
  
"Good luck on the trip. I hope you find what you are looking for." Craig nodded at Emma and she left the room.  
  
Craig boarded the plane the next morning and sat in his seat. After take off, he got out the Bannister book and looked it over, the back cover held nothing but reviews. He read the front flyleaf, which explained the plot of the book. The book was about Moira, a teenage girl who was suffering from clinical depression and in the hospital, but it also dealt with her relationships with her family, including her twin brother Max and his best friend Greg. On the back cover was the author biography, which only had two lines. "AK Bannister was raised in Canada, where she still lives. This is her fifth novel." Craig found the biography amusing in a way-obviously AK Bannister did not want anyone to know anything about her. Craig felt guilty because of that, he did believe that people should have privacy. However, he knew he had to do this job, and he wanted to do it well. It was as if two sides of himself were at war as he flipped the book over and over in his hands.   
  
Craig decided to open the book, see if there was a dedication. There was not only a dedication but a snippet of song lyrics. The dedication read "To C, thank you for everything. You were the first one I opened my true voice too, and I miss you." The lyrics were by Tori Amos, "These these precious things/Let them bleed now/Let them wash away/These these precious things/Let them break their hold over me" Craig smiled at the page, feeling a nagging feeling in his heart, but ignored it and decided that he may as well start the book.  
  
He had the book halfway finished by the time they arrived at PEI, and couldn't wait to finish it. There was something familier to him, and that was the fact that the ward Moira was in was almost identical to the one he'd been in, but he figured that perhaps more than one ward was like that, or that the author had known someone in that ward. Craig put the book away, got off the plane, got his luggage, and headed to the rental car area. After picking up the car, he headed to the hotel and checked in. After check-in Craig read more of "Wash Away," before realizing that it was almost dark. He then decided to head to a local diner to eat supper, but he first drove by the farmhouse owned by Melody Matthews, who his boss assumed was AK Bannister. It was a medium sized house, but very inviting, with an old barn and old chicken-coop out back. Craig also noticed a light burning from inside the house, and was startled by this at first. He then remembered that while Melody Matthew's was in Europe, her neice was supposed to be staying at the house. He decided to drive by it again on the way back, as it was not that far out of his way.  
  
Craig then ate a quick meal at a local diner, where he observed the people there. No one looked at him strangely, he noticed, but perhaps maybe that was the kind of people who lived here-the kind who very simply minds their own businesses. After dinner, Craig drove behind the farmhouse. He wasn't sure why he did what he did next, but he got out of the car and started walking toward the barn, looking for good angles to shoot the photos. He was nearly at the barn when he heard the dog. Then he saw the dog, as it tackled him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the back door of the house open and a young woman step out and walk towards him, yelling "Stan!" "Stan!" as the dog licked Craig's face. It took Craig a moment to realize that the dog must be Stan. The dog got off of him and the woman reached for his hand and pulled him to the back porch.  
  
It wasn't until they were nearly in the light that she said, "You must be the photographer, where'd you drop your camera."  
  
Craig managed to stutter out "I didn't have it with me." Then kicked himself for basically saying he was the photographer.   
  
When they stepped into the light she looked at him funny. "Craig Manning?" At his nod she smiled. "You don't recognize me, Craig? Should I speak in lyrics?"  
  
"Allegra?"  
  
"Last time I checked." He almost hugged her then, but stopped. He hadn't seen Allegra Baxter since he'd left the hospital six years before. "You're the photographer...odd. You'll be over for lunch tomorrow. 11:30. Don't be late." At that she walked into the house and closed the door. Craig hadn't even had time to accept her invitation, but of course he would. He wondered if tomorrow he'd also find out about AK Bannister, or if he'd just find out about Allegra's last six years.  
  
Craig headed back to the hotel then, called Troy and told him he had no news, and then called to check in with Joey. He didn't mention Allegra to Joey, and wasn't quite sure of the reason why. He then laid back on the bed, exausted. It had been a stressful day. 


	3. Everything old is New Again

I'm back. Kinda. School's crazy this semester so updates may not be as fast in coming as in my prior stories.   
  
Bonus Points to first person who realizes what band or artist I'm taking my chapter titles from this time!  
  
Precious things, Chapter three "Everything Old Is New Again"  
  
The phone rang at nine am. It was Craig's wake up call, he had to be at the farm in an hour and a half to meet with Allegra. He grabbed a candy bar and nibbled on it, sipping on water as he took his pill for the day. He looked at the green and white pill before he popped it into his mouth, thinking about the first day he'd taken the pill, and how he'd been most worried about how to say goodbye to Allegra. Now he was saying hello to her again. He wondered two things. The first was what had she been upto the last six years, the second was about AK Bannister. By now Craig was assuming that he was the niece of Melody Matthews, and he wondered if she would tell him the truth about her aunt.   
  
Craig headed to the farmhouse and knocked on the door at 11:25, five minutes before she had told him to be there. Allegra answered the door with a bright smile. "You're early, come on in."  
  
He entered the house and found that she'd set the table already, and sandwiches were on it. He started to eat, and she asked him about what he'd been up to.  
  
"I went to college, graduated, and I work at Sights and Sounds magazine. Which I hate."  
  
"And which sent you here to find AK Bannister." Craig just nodded. "What are you going to do now that you've found her."  
  
Craig nearly spit his milk clear across the room. "Wait, I thought Melody Matthew's was AK Bannister."  
  
"Shit, you don't know." Allegra laughed then, clear as a bell, clear as a song. "I'm AK Bannister. Congradulations, you have your scoop"  
  
Craig felt his eyes go wide, and he tried to process the information he was given. Then it hit him. "Wash away, the dedication...that was me." It wasn't a question, and she didn't answer, only raised her eyebrows at him as he continued. "And the A in AK Bannister stands for Allegra."  
  
"Yes, and you're in my name too. AK Bannister-A for Allegra, K for K-Ward, B for Baxter" Her last name, he remembered "Ann for Manning and Ister for Macalister hospital."  
  
"Complicated pen name."  
  
"I like complicated. And confusing-no one could figure out where AK Bannister got her name from, and I like it that way." She looked at him. "What are you going to do now?"  
  
"Have lunch with you, talk about everything."   
  
She rolled her eyes at him. "I meant about knowing who I am."  
  
"I haven't thought that far in advance yet" He really hadn't. However, he knew what his gut instinct was telling him. It was telling him to keep Allegra's secret, and if that meant losing his job, than so be it. He didn't want to tell her that right away though, because he'd just remet her. "I just want to talk to you for a while, and then...I'll tell Troy my camera broke, and I lost my film, buy some time."  
  
She nodded at him. "It would be nice to talk to you again. In proper English even."  
  
"I noticed that you seem to have a good command of the language for someone who spoke in lyrics for most of her teenage years."  
  
They moved into the den to sit and chat. "I wasn't that bad, I spoke to you and Dr. Allen in English."   
  
"True..so is Melody Matthew's really your aunt?"  
  
"Yes, I moved in with her when I was 18, we bought this place together two years ago, to get away from Toronto. She's a travel writer, isn't around much. Its just me and Stan mostly, but I like it. I spent most of my adolescence in a psychicatric ward, so the solitude is good. I see a doctor once every two weeks and I write for a living. What's not to love?"  
  
"You have a point, my life isn't..I hate my job, thats the main problem. I've already decided that after I get back to Toronto I'm quitting. Its got to be better than this." Allegra just nodded at him, and they chatted about stupid things for a while, before he headed back to the hotel to answer the important question of-what was he going to tell Troy? 


End file.
